Flagstaff.



' w. E.- LOM-B-ARD.

FLAGSTAFF. APPLICATION FILED OUT. 18, 1909.

Patented July 12,1910.

W az 6514 rice.

WALTER E. LOMBARD, OF ARLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

FLAGSTAFF.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 12, 1910.

Application filed October 18, 1909. Serial No. 523,328.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WAL'IER E. LoMBAnD, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Arlington, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flagstaffs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to flagstaffs and has for its object the production of an article of this class which will be free from the objections generally found in such devices now in use.

One great objection to be found in the flagstafi's in general use is that the halyard passes over a sheave revoluble in the top thereof and whenever this becomes inoperative for any reason it is necessary to lower the top portion of the staif or to climb the staff to fix. it.

Obviously this is very objectionable and the principal object of this invention is to overcome this objection. To this end a rope or cable is passed over the sheave in the top of the stafi and to its end is secured a block over which the flag halyard passes. It is obvious, therefore, that in the raising and lowering of the flag the sheave in the top of the stafi is never used, the halyard running on the pulley in the block. When this becomes worn or gets out of order by grasping both ends of the halyard the block may be pulled down so that it may be fixed, the rope or cable to which the block is secured passing over the sheave during this operation.

Another improvement is the provision of means whereby when the halyards become soaked and shrink the rope or cable supporting the halyard block Wlll yield to prevent any strain coming on the staff or the halyards.

The invention further consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be readily understood by reference to the description of the drawings and to the claims hereinafter given.

Of the drawings: Figure 1 represents an elevation of a flagstaff embodying the features of this invention with the supporting means shown in section. Fig. 2 represents an enlarged section of the top portion of the same. Fig. 3 represents a horizontal section of the same, the cutting plane being on line 3-3 on Fig. 1. Fig. 1 represents a horizontal section of the same, the cutting plane being on line 4.4 on Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 represents a vertical section of the same, g e cutting plane being on line 55 on Similar characters designate like parts throughout the several figures of the draw ings.

In the drawings, 10 represents a tubular flagstalf of steel or any other material pro vided with the guys 11 having anchors 12 at their lower ends embedded in blocks 13 in the concrete or any other well-known material. The lower end of the staff 10 is supported by a suitable block 14: embedded in concrete as indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The upper end of the staff 10 is chambered out as indicated in Fig. 2 and in an annular groove 15 formed in the bottom of said chamber are a plurality of balls 16 upon which rest the lower end of the revoluble head 17. In a grove in the periphery of said head 17 are a plurality of balls 18 bearing against the vertical wall of said chamber. The shank of the head 17 is also provided with an annular groove 19 in which extends a projection 20 secured to the tubular staff 10 to prevent the accidental displacement of said revoluble head.

The revoluble head 17 is chambered out as indicated in Fig. 2 and on a pin 21 extending across said chambered portion is a sheave 22 over which passes a rope or cable 28. The upper end of this cable 23 has secured thereto a block 24 having a sheave 25 over which the usual halyards 26 are passed, these halyards having secured thereto in the ordinary manner a flag 26* and when said flag is raised to the top of the mast the halyards are secured in the usual manner to the staff as indicated at 27. The rope or cable 23 passes through the interior of the tubular stafi l0 and below the surface of the concrete mass in which said staff is embedded. In a chamber in this concrete is mounted a revoluble member 29, the support 30 for which is embedded in said concrete and prevented from turning by the wings 31. An inverted drum 32 is superimposed upon said revoluble member 29 and rotates about the axis of the support 30 independently of the member 29. Se-

cured to the hub 33 of the member 29 is a spiral spring 34:, the opposite end of which is secured to the member 32 as indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The member 29 is provided on its periphery with a plurality of gear teeth 35 with which engages the worm 36 mounted in bearings 37 and revoluble therein. One end of the shaft of the worm 36 has secured thereto a bevel gear 38 meshing with a gear 39 on a shaft 40 mounted in a bearing 4:1 and provided with means such as a squared portion 42 at its upper end by which said shaft may be revolved'to turn the member 29 to adjust the tension of the spring 34.

The rope or cable 23 passes out from the stafi 10 under a sheave 43 and is wound upon the drum 32, the tension of the spring 32 being sufficient to retain the block 24 in elevated position in which position it is always maintained unless trouble occurs with the flag or halyards in which case the block may be brought into position where the halyards or block may be repaired by seizing both halyards and pulling the block downward against the tension of the spring 34, which in practice may be of sufficient length to permit this to be accomplished, or the member 29 with the inverted drum 32 thereon may be turned enough to let out a sufficient length of cable for this purpose. By this means the climbing of the staff or the lowering of the top staff in order to repair a block in the top thereof, which is now the usual practice, is wholly obviated, which is a great advantage in constructing staffs in this manner. It also obviates another trouble which occurs in the ordinary staffs when in rough weather the halyards shrink and brings considerable strain thereon. In the present construction, when this occurs, the block will simply be pulled down to overcome any shrinkage which may occur, the pulling down being against the tension of the spring 34 which, as soon as the halyards return to their normal positions, will return the block to its normal position.

It is believed that the many advantages 7 of a device of this kind will be fully apparent without any further description.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a fiagstaff, the combination of a pulley revoluble in the upper end thereof; a rope passing over the same; a block secured to one end of said rope; and a halyard pass ing over the sheave in said block.

2. In a flagstaff, the combination of a pulley revoluble in the upper end thereof; a rope passing over the same; a block secured to one end of said rope; a halyard passing over the sheave in said block; and a resilient member secured to the opposite end of said rope.

3. In a fiagstaff, the combination of a pulley revoluble in the upper end thereof; a rope passing over the same; a block secured to one end of said rope; a halyard passing over the sheave in said block; a resilient member secured to the opposite end of said rope; and means for regulating the tension of said resilient member.

4. In a flagstafi', the combination of a pulley revoluble in the upper end thereof; a rope passing over the same; ahalyard for a flag secured to one end of said rope; and a resilient member secured to the opposite end thereof.

5. In a flagstaif, the combination of a pulley revoluble in the upper end thereof; a rope passing over the same; a block secured to one end thereof; a flag halyard passing over the sheave in said block; a drum upon which the opposite end of said rope is adapted to be wound; and means for revolving said drum and retaining said rope taut.

6. In a fiagstaff, the combination of a pulley revoluble in the upper end thereof; a rope passing over the same; a block secured to one end thereof; a flag halyard passing over the sheave in said block; a drum upon which the opposite end of said rope is adapted to be wound; and a spring for revolving said drum and retaining said rope taut.

7. In a fiagstaff, the combination of a pulley revoluble in the upper end thereof; a rope passing over the same; a block secured to one end thereof; a flag halyard passing over the sheave in said block; a drum upon which the opposite end of said rope is adapted to be wound; a spring for revolving said drum and retaining said rope passing over the sheave in said block; a

drum upon which the opposite end of said rope is adapted to be wound; means for revolving said drum and retaining said rope taut; a spring within said drum and secured at one end thereto; a revoluble member to which the opposite end of said spring is secured; and means for revolving said shaft and retaining it in adjust-ed position.

9. In a flagstaif, the combination of a pulley revoluble in the upper end thereof; a rope passing over the same; a block secured to one end thereof; a flag halyard passing over the sheave in said block; a drum upon which the opposite end of said rope is adapted to be wound; means for revolving said drum and retaining said rope taut; a spring within said drum and secured at one end thereto; a revoluble member to which passing over the same; a block secured to the 10 the opposite end of said spring is secured; end thereof; and a halyard passing over the a gear secured to said shaft; and a revolusheave.

ble Worm meshing therewith and adapted to Signed by me at 4: Post Offi'ce Sq., Boston, regulate the tension of said spring. Mass, this 16th day of October, 1909.

10. In a flagstaff, the combination of a WALTER E. LOMBARD. main stafi; a head in the upper end thereof Witnesses: adapted to rotate about its vertical axis; a EDNA O. CLEVELAND,

revoluble pulley mounted therein; a rope NATHAN C. LOMBARD. 

